------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mike Summers - August 2012:
Detroit is a tough city to fly into because seats always seem to be full. Don't be afraid to fly into Grand Rapids on Frontier and then drive two and one-half hours east to Detroit, or fly into South Bend, IN on Frontier and drive three and one-half hours northeast to Detroit. Here's the website for the Grand Rapids Airport (GRR): http://www.grr.org/index.php . Rental companies customer service centers as well as vehicle pick-up and drop-off are all located on the first floor of the parking garage. Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Alamo all have vehicles available. If you're planning to visit Grand Rapids, here's the website for things to do in GRR: http://www.experiencegr.com/things-to-do/attractions/ . The Gerald Ford Presidential Library is probably the number one attraction (Website: http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/museum/aboutmus.asp ) in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids has a munber or Breweries. Founders Brewing Company was one of five that I discovered (Website: http://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/ ) that also had good food. The Grand Rapids Brewing Company (Website: http://www.grbrewingcompany.com/about ) also had a nice selection of guest beers. Whatever your reason to fly into Grand Rapids, Enjoy!
Ed Kollada - June 2008:
Grand Rapids is located about 15 miles inland from Lake Michigan and directly across the lake from Milwaukee. It's a short 30 mile trip to Holland, MI, which is a Dutch village (Website: http://www.holland.org/ ) packed with kitschy wooden shoe souvenirs and an authentic Dutch windmill with blooming tulips. Just past Holland heading southwest from Grand Rapids on Interstate 196 is Saugatuck (Website: http://www.saugatuck.com/index.asp ), which is an arts community located on the shores of Lake Michigan about 40 minutes from Grand Rapids. It's bursting with boutiques, galleries, and restaurants. From Saugatuck, head south and east on Michigan Highway 89 to the sleepy town of Fennville, home to Fenn Valley Vineyards and Wine Cellar (Website: http://www.fennvalley.com/ ). Back in Grand Rapids, try the following restaurants: San Chez (Website: http://www.sanchezbistro.com/ ) for tapas, and meat & seafood dishes; Marie Catrib's (Website: http://mariecatribs.com/ ) for some over-the-top sandwiches for lunch; or Yesterdog (Website: http://yesterdog.com/ ) for good old fashioned hot dogs. For a night out you can visit Hop Cat (Website: http://hopcatgr.com/ ) for a wide selection of beers; the Intersection (Website: http://sectionlive.com/ ) for live music; and Founders Brewing (Website: http://foundersbrewing.com/ ) for late night suds. We stayed at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel (Website: http://www.amwaygrand.com/ ), which was clean comfortable, and reasonable.
Jenny Heidel - October 2013:
Mackinac Island, MI: Mackinac Island (Website: http://www.mackinacisland.org/ ) is a favorite Michigan vacation spot. Located in the Straits of Mackinac with a view of the Mackinac Bridge (Website: http://www.mackinacbridge.org/ ), travel to the island is by a short ferry ride, either from Mackinaw City (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinaw_City (Lower Peninsula)) or St. Ignace (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Ignace,_Michigan (Upper peninsula)). Travel on the island is by horse and carriage or by bicycle. Bicycles can be rented on the island. Biking around the perimeter of the island is a 7 mile trip or you can bike into the interior where there are golf courses, great trails, and a couple of cemeteries dating to the early 1800s. Visitors can also tour the historic fort on the island which played a role in the War of 1812. There are many inns, small hotels, and bed and breakfasts to choose from. We like The Inn at Mackinac, a refurbished inn with a continental breakfast, swimming pool, and a gorgeous wrap around front porch to sit on and relax (Website: http://innonmackinac.com/ ). Mackinac Island is know for its fudge and has several fudge shops to choose from. We visited in October when the fall colors were at their peak, and it was not as crowded.
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Grand Rapids Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Grand_Rapids
Upper Peninsula Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Upper_Peninsula_(Michigan)
Mackinac Island Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Mackinac_Island
Michigan Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Michigan
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mike Summers - August 2012:
Detroit is a tough city to fly into because seats always seem to be full. Don't be afraid to fly into Grand Rapids on Frontier and then drive two and one-half hours east to Detroit, or fly into South Bend, IN on Frontier and drive three and one-half hours northeast to Detroit. Here's the website for the Grand Rapids Airport (GRR): http://www.grr.org/index.php . Rental companies customer service centers as well as vehicle pick-up and drop-off are all located on the first floor of the parking garage. Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Alamo all have vehicles available. If you're planning to visit Grand Rapids, here's the website for things to do in GRR:
http://www.experiencegr.com/things-to-do/attractions/ . The Gerald Ford Presidential Library is probably the number one attraction (Website: http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/museum/aboutmus.asp ) in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids has a munber or Breweries. Founders Brewing Company was one of five that I discovered (Website: http://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/ ) that also had good food. The Grand Rapids Brewing Company (Website: http://www.grbrewingcompany.com/about ) also had a nice selection of guest beers. Whatever your reason to fly into Grand Rapids, Enjoy!
Ed Kollada - June 2008:
Grand Rapids is located about 15 miles inland from Lake Michigan and directly across the lake from Milwaukee. It's a short 30 mile trip to Holland, MI, which is a Dutch village (Website: http://www.holland.org/ ) packed with kitschy wooden shoe souvenirs and an authentic Dutch windmill with blooming tulips. Just past Holland heading southwest from Grand Rapids on Interstate 196 is Saugatuck (Website: http://www.saugatuck.com/index.asp ), which is an arts community located on the shores of Lake Michigan about 40 minutes from Grand Rapids. It's bursting with boutiques, galleries, and restaurants. From Saugatuck, head south and east on Michigan Highway 89 to the sleepy town of Fennville, home to Fenn Valley Vineyards and Wine Cellar (Website: http://www.fennvalley.com/ ). Back in Grand Rapids, try the following restaurants: San Chez (Website: http://www.sanchezbistro.com/ ) for tapas, and meat & seafood dishes; Marie Catrib's (Website:
http://mariecatribs.com/ ) for some over-the-top sandwiches for lunch; or Yesterdog (Website: http://yesterdog.com/ ) for good old fashioned hot dogs. For a night out you can visit Hop Cat (Website: http://hopcatgr.com/ ) for a wide selection of beers; the Intersection (Website: http://sectionlive.com/ ) for live music; and Founders Brewing (Website: http://foundersbrewing.com/ ) for late night suds. We stayed at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel (Website: http://www.amwaygrand.com/ ), which was clean comfortable, and reasonable.
Jenny Heidel - October 2013:
Mackinac Island, MI: Mackinac Island (Website: http://www.mackinacisland.org/ ) is a favorite Michigan vacation spot. Located in the Straits of Mackinac with a view of the Mackinac Bridge (Website: http://www.mackinacbridge.org/ ), travel to the island is by a short ferry ride, either from Mackinaw City (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinaw_City (Lower Peninsula)) or St. Ignace (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Ignace,_Michigan (Upper peninsula)). Travel on the island is by horse and carriage or by bicycle. Bicycles can be rented on the island. Biking around the perimeter of the island is a 7 mile trip or you can bike into the interior where there are golf courses, great trails, and a couple of cemeteries dating to the early 1800s. Visitors can also tour the historic fort on the island which played a role in the War of 1812. There are many inns, small hotels, and bed and breakfasts to choose from. We like The Inn at Mackinac, a refurbished inn with a continental breakfast, swimming pool, and a gorgeous wrap around front porch to sit on and relax (Website: http://innonmackinac.com/ ). Mackinac Island is know for its fudge and has several fudge shops to choose from. We visited in October when the fall colors were at their peak, and it was not as crowded.